FIXER: Big Brother, alcohol, and belt drives

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THE CAR WHO SPIED ME

Ben Milgrom, Farmington, Oregon

I've been hearing a lot about automotive black boxes, in-car telematics, and systems that let you track a car from anywhere. It seems like a manufacturer could easily use this stuff to invade my privacy. Is my car watching me?

Short of hoarding cash under the mattress and using the last few pay phones in existence, there's really no way to leave home without something or someone tracking you. And unless you also drive a 20-year-old econobox, your car is probably watching, too.

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Automakers have installed event-data recorders (EDRs) in cars, albeit sporadically, since the first airbags arrived in the 1970s. The goal was to improve R&D by recording the final moments leading up to a potential crash so that engineers could see how airbags worked (or didn't) in real-life accidents. EDRs were key in the development of "smart" airbags, which deploy at different speeds based on passenger weight. Many can now record a vehicle's lateral acceleration, steering input, seatbelt usage, and other data. According to the NHTSA, about 96 percent of all new light-duty cars and trucks have EDRs.

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Don't get too paranoid. Unlike the black boxes on modern commercial airliners, these data recorders don't log audio or video, can't embed your VIN or other personal information, and activate only when the car senses an impending accident. Just a few seconds of information gets captured, and if an airbag doesn't deploy, the data is erased. Since 2011, the government has required that all automakers using EDRs record crash data in the same way. Last year, it drafted a proposal to require EDRs in all new cars by September 2014.

Many people and organizations, including AAA, retain a healthy skepticism. So far, 13 states have passed laws giving owners the right to their EDR data and banning law enforcement and insurance companies from obtaining the data without a court order. But even if EDRs become mandatory, the data they provide has proved to be relatively innocuous. In a recent example, NHTSA looked at Toyota owners' data (with permission), studying the information of those who claimed to have experienced sudden acceleration. The data ran to the contrary.

The real trouble is brewing with in-car technology like GPS telematics, smartphone apps, and embedded cellular modems that are designed to track not just where you are, but where you're going. Cars aren't yet sold like software—there's no lengthy user agreement—so there's no proof that Audi can't see your Google searches or that Ford isn't skimming your Pandora stations. GM's OnStar faced congressional and public opposition in 2011 after announcing it would monitor customers who had canceled service, and Tesla recently showed it's capable of tracking drivers' movements wirelessly (down to climate-control settings) without the owner's knowledge. There's nothing to say a dealer can't deny a warranty claim based on data.

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At this point, the issue is a problem that only privacy laws can solve. We may never drive alone again, but it would at least be nice to know who else is in the car.

ALCOHOL, JUST NOT THE FUN KIND

Roy Brainerd, Dublin, Ohio

I'm finishing up a long restoration of my dad's old MG and should be getting it on the road this summer. I'm about to rebuild the car's twin carburetors and am wondering: Will the ethanol in modern blended fuel harm the engine?

First, the good news: Ethanol is an octane enhancer. All things being equal, it should help protect against detonation (a.k.a. pinging, a.k.a. stuff in your cylinders burning when you don't want it to).

Now the bad: Ethanol, also called ethyl alcohol, is extremely corrosive. The fuel systems in most older cars weren't designed for that, so it's wise to replace gaskets and fuel lines with modern materials. Ethanol contains less heat energy than straight gasoline, so blended fuels can take a small toll on power and fuel economy. It's also hygroscopic, meaning it attracts water. After the alcohol in your tank has pulled as much water from the atmosphere as it can hold, this mixture can separate and fall to the bottom of the tank, forming a nasty slug of watery alcohol that can wreak havoc on sensitive fuel-system components. Finally, like any alcohol, ethanol acts as a solvent. Any corrosion or debris that has been sitting more or less harmlessly in the nooks and crannies of your fuel system can be flushed loose to clog filters, carburetor jets, or injectors. Do your best to clean the system before using the car.

With old cars, the best answer is to simply avoid ethanol-enhanced fuels when possible. Sites like pure-gas.org offer a continuously updated list of American stations selling ethanol-free gas, and some smartphone apps provide the same information. Barring that, there are always marine suppliers or racetracks. Just be prepared to pay (no pun intended) a premium.

BELTS AND CHAINS

Walter Fredric, Irwindale, California

I'm seeing more and more CVTs on new cars lately. Maybe I'm slow, but I still can't get it through my head how they work. Also, are these things reliable yet?

The continuously variable transmission (CVT) has been around for centuries, having been first conceptualized by Leonardo da Vinci. Although the technology is common in ATVs and snowmobiles, it's only recently seen widespread automotive use. In theory, a CVT can provide improved acceleration and fuel economy over a conventional automatic.

The engineering that makes this possible is pretty cool. Unlike most two-pedal transmissions, CVTs don't use physical gears to vary the relationship between engine speed and wheel speed. Instead, they use a drive belt or chain linking two pulleys. Similar to the way a bicycle's sprockets determine overall gear-ing, a CVT's pulleys are variable in functional diameter, but steplessly. Each pulley is made of two pieces—think of two cocktail umbrellas top-to-top, with a resulting V-shaped channel in between—that can be moved closer together or farther apart. When they're closer, the belt or chain rides higher in the pulley; as they move apart, it rides lower. In this manner, the ratio between the two pulleys varies infinitely from reduction to overdrive, theoretically providing the perfect "gear" for every situation. On paper, this happens seamlessly, without the power interruption of a conventional automatic.

Naturally, the reality varies. While the quickest full-throttle acceleration would come from holding an engine at or near its power peak, the drone this produces can be annoying, so manufacturers often program CVTs to simulate gear changes. Some go a step further and allow paddle shifters or a console lever to command those changes.

Because automotive CVTs are a relatively young technology, they lack the steeped-in-decades reliability of conventional gearboxes. Most don't take kindly to abuse, though there's no reason to worry if you're just purchasing a CVT for normal driving. Some CVTs have suffered from broken belts at relatively low mileage, a problem usually solved by costly transmission replacement. Maintenance is like any other automatic: regular oil changes (using the proper fluid is vital) and filter replacement, if so equipped.